‘I wanted placenta, they gave silicone’

Ms Mandy Chong, a 35-year-old accounts manager from Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, paid RM8,180 (S$3,375) to a beauty centre for four injections in her buttocks.

The centre, which was not named, claimed that it was injecting sheep placenta imported from New Zealand.

Animal placenta is used in anti-ageing treatments, among other things, but experts are not convinced of its effectiveness.

But instead of placenta, Ms Chong claims the centre had injected silicone instead. Though liquid injectable silicone has been used for soft-tissue augmentation, some physicians say it posts risks such as causing inflammation and exerting pressure on nerves.

Ms Chong said she has developed side effects. She claimed: "When the injected area started swelling and I could not bear the pain. I went to a specialist hospital and discovered they had actually injected silicone."

She had to pay over RM15,000 to rectify the damage caused by the beauty procedure, but claims that she still suffers pain.

She was talking to reporters at a press conference organised by the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) public services and complaints department.

She said: "Doctors said the silicone has entered my bloodstream and there may be long-term effects."

She added that she has been unable to work for over a month after the surgery.

Ms Chong alleged that since last October, she had made six attempts to contact the beauty centre for a refund but was ignored each time.

She said she was misled by the advertisements and also alleged that it was not a doctor but an assistant who administered the injections.

"They spoke highly of the product during the treatment."

She also cautioned other women against going for such treatments.

MCA department head Michael Chong said many women who sought beauty treatments from "fly-by-night" operators had done so without proper consultation.

He said: "They allow themselves to become guinea pigs of unqualified people."

Mr Chong added that the department would refer the case to a tribunal and he would inform the health ministry. The department's legal counsel would also issue a letter of demand to the beauty centre, he added.

A similar case happened in Florida, US, last month when a woman almost lost her life after she went through an illegal operation where toxic substances were injected into her body.

Police there said that Oneal Morris, a transgender man who dresses like a woman, performed the illegal surgery on the woman, reported the Daily Mail.

The woman's buttocks were injected with a "cocktail of chemicals" which included cement, tyre sealant, superglue and mineral oil, according to a police statement.

Police said the incision was later sealed with superglue.

In a recent health scare which affected more than 400,000 women worldwide, a French breast implant manufacturer is alleged to have used an untested fuel additive in its now-banned implants, French radio station RTL reported.

RTL said it obtained an exact breakdown of the materials used in the faulty implants, including Baysilone, Silopren and Rhodorsil, all of which are industrial products never tested or approved for clinical use.

The products, used in the oil or rubber industries, allegedly caused the silicone gel implants to have a high rupture rate.